Malfunctions
by Candaru
Summary: PIXAL doesn't usually have to deal with human emotions, but the chip responsible for that is still imperfect— and when it malfunctions, she's forced to deal with an onslaught of random mood swings and physical pains. Luckily, these are common symptoms for girls, so Nya decides to show the android how to cope with them. (Platonic PIXAL/Nya, no slash, S8 spoilers, T for safety)
1. Mood Swings

(A/N: Once upon a time, I started writing a fanfic I'd been meaning to write for literally months, but told myself I wouldn't post the first chapter until I was totally done. Then later that same day a new episode of Ninjago came out called The Quiet One and it was liTERALLY PERFECT IN EVERY WAY SHAPE AND FORM AND IF I STARTED SCREAMING ABOUT IT I'D NEVER BE DONE SO SHUT UP AND HAVE SOME PLATONIC PIXAL/NYA FLUFF THAT WAS ONE THOUSAND PERCENT CANONIZED BY TODAY'S EPISODE, HOLY FUDGE YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW ECSTATIC I AM, I LITERALLY CANNOT DESCRIBE HOW HECKING PERFECT IT WAS. THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE READ MY SAMURAI PI(X)AL FANFIC ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO COULD POSSIBLY HAVE ANY IDEA HOW PSYCHED I AM OVER THIS.) (Oh btw this takes place sometime after S8 probably lol)

(P.S. In case u couldn't tell from the fic description, there are many allusions to female hormones in this fic b/c I'm suffering and need to self-project onto characters. But nothing is gross or descriptive so y'all should be fine.)

* * *

Nya had been trained from a young age in the art of combat. Even before becoming the water ninja— even before Samurai X— she had helped her older brother work in the blacksmith's shop, forging weapons and showing them off to any potential customers with ferocious attacks on weakly built scarecrows. She had also been trained— albeit with much less success— to bandage wounds, clean scraped-up knees, and even pop a dislocated joint back into its socket. But the one aspect of combat that Nya was _really_ good at was recognizing when someone else was in trouble. She could hear a cry for help yards away over the roar of battle, and she swore that if Kai was in trouble, sometimes she could _feel_ it. It was a skill that had come in handy often while disguising herself as Samurai X (the _original_ Samurai X, mind you), and it was still one she used often while fighting alongside the ninja.

So when Nya was getting herself a glass of water from the kitchen (in an unnecessarily fancy fashion), she recognized without a doubt what were distant moans of pain coming from the bedroom hallway. And she was there before she'd even had time to register the voice she'd heard.

"What happened here?" she asked instinctively as she ran into the hall, expecting with some level of certainty to see either a villain or the remains of one somewhere close by. Instead, she was greeted by the sole sight of P.I.X.A.L., lying curled up on the floor with her hands clenching her sides. She quickly looked up in what appeared to be a mix of fear and anger.

"Go away!" she blurted out suddenly, and Nya was frozen in shock for a solid minute. PIXAL wasn't the type to tell anyone to go away, _especially_ without reason. She was much more of a typical android than Zane— cool, calculating, and logical— even though she still had, and displayed, human emotion.

"I-is there an enemy nearby?" Nya finally managed to ask, scanning the area for signs of a skirmish that she may have missed. PIXAL shook her head violently.

"No— no, there are no enemies," she managed to growl through clenched teeth.

"Then what on Ninjago has gotten into you?" the water ninja cried, dropping herself down to PIXAL's level. "Are you angry at me…?"

The android hesitated. "Yes— I mean, no— I am… not sure." She moaned and fell onto the floor in frustration. "Everything hurts."

Nya frowned. Something about PIXAL's behavior felt familiar, but she wasn't sure how. The AI had certainly never acted this unpredictable before. In fact, Nya couldn't think of a time she'd directly expressed anger at all.

"Are one of your systems down?" she asked as gently as she could.

"I do not know," PIXAL sighed, in an odd tone that sounded like her usually robotic demeanor was struggling against a more emotional outburst. "I have never had a breakdown this strong before."

"This strong?" Nya asked. "Have you experienced anything similar to this before?" She reached out a hand to PIXAL's shoulder. "Maybe I can fix—"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" the android cried, instinctively backing away. She froze in fear as Nya quickly pulled her hand back. "I— I am sorry, I don't know why I am…"

"So angry?" Nya muttered, her heart racing from the sudden startle. Suddenly, PIXAL looked up.

"That's— that must be it," she said. "Angry— of course. I should have figured…" She moaned again.

"What is it?" Nya asked, trying her best to remain calm and reminding herself not to get angry. Whatever was with PIXAL, it wasn't normal and it wasn't her fault.

"My AIE-ES chip," she said in a tired voice. Suddenly, her face became weary and fatigued. "It has malfunctioned in minor degrees in the past, but my replication of it was probably imperfect…"

The human girl raised an eyebrow. "Look, I'm good with machines, but that's technobabble I'm not familiar with. What's an AIE-ES?"

"An artificial intelligence enhancer-emotion suppressor," PIXAL explained. "It is a highly complicated, _highly_ fragile piece of machinery created by the genius mind of Cyrus Borg. It has taken him sixteen tries to even reach this level of productivity with it, but unfortunately, it is still imperfect."

"Well, if Borg created it, that explains why I'm not familiar with it," Nya sighed, shifting into a more comfortable sitting position next to the android. "I don't think Zane has one of those."

PIXAL shook her head. "He does not. That is part of the reason he feels so strongly— as humans do. However," she sighed, "for those of us who are _not_ regularly accustomed to human emotions, strong bouts of feeling are… difficult to manage. And difficult to predict." She sighed again and leaned back against the wall. "And on top of all that, the AIE-ES is responsible for several of the pain centers, so when it malfunctions it causes physical pains in multiple parts of the body. Randomly. Like the emotions."

"Should I go get Zane?" Nya asked worriedly. "I'm sure he'd be able to help—"

"No!" PIXAL cried, then shook her head to get ahold of herself. "I mean— I do not wish for him to see me in this state." She buried her head in her hands, and Nya felt a wave of sympathy.

"Hey, it's okay," she reassured the android gently. "I get it. I won't tell Zane." PIXAL mumbled something into her hands, but Nya couldn't tell what it was. The girls were silent for a moment.

"You know," Nya said, "You aren't the only one to deal with this."

PIXAL looked up and raised an eyebrow, as if to say, "you're kidding me, right?"

"I mean, most girls don't have a faulty piece of machinery stuck in their heads," Nya added quickly, "But we do have to deal with some stuff that is… surprisingly similar to what you just described, actually."

PIXAL paused, then her eyes widened. "…Oh." She hesitated. "I am aware of the functions you speak of, but I did not think it was really so painful."

"Trust me," Nya reassured her. "It is. It sucks. Random pains all over your body and uncontrollable emotional swings?" She laughed with a slight smirk. "Yeah, you aren't the only one."

PIXAL paused, looking around the hallway. "How do you manage it?" she asked in a quiet tone. Nya had to think about that for a moment.

"Well… nothing totally fixes it, you mostly have to wait out the ride."

"That is what has always happened with the AIE-ES chip," PIXAL sighed.

"But," Nya said smiling, "there are a few things that do tend to help."

The android looked up at the black-haired girl. Her green eyes glowed in curiosity. "Such as?"

Nya grinned. "I think we need to have a little girls' night out."

* * *

(Fun fact, the AIE-ES is 100% canon and it canolically malfunctions sometimes and I own the book that talks about it briefly. Bless whoever decided to put that info out there for giving me LITERALLY EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED SO I COULD WRITE A FIC. I have the best hecking luck with cartoons I swear— okay I'll shut up now) (It's a good thing I started writing this fic before watching the episode 'cuz I'm clearly not coherent right now asdfhgjkl)


	2. Shopping

"A… shopping mall?"

Nya smiled over at the confused android, who stepped off the back of the SX2 Motorbike with fervent glances back and forth.

"The best thing to do when you're feeling like this is to distract yourself. So, yea, we're going shopping! Besides, we can also buy some stuff that might help reduce your pain, so we're multitasking."

"Yes," PIXAL muttered, looking at the giant advertisements outside for various makeup brands and swimwear, "Very productive."

The inside of the mall was air conditioned from the heat outside, which was a welcome relief for Nya. It had been a long time since she'd been out shopping with someone else— it was kind of nice.

"Okay," she said, looking around at the different shops, "where to first?"

PIXAL cocked her head. "I thought you knew where we were going."

"I do," Nya replied. "We're going shopping. So where do you want to start? Surely you've been to a mall before."

"I have been in many malls," PIXAL huffed somewhat defensively, "for the release of new Borg products. I simply have never wandered about aimlessly… or gone with the intent of purchasing something for myself." Her tone was somewhat ambivalent.

"Well, there's a first for everything, then," Nya said, still having to remind herself not to get annoyed at the android for being so irritable. "Come on, if you can't decide, clothes are always a good place to start." She took PIXAL by the hand (thankfully, she didn't fight the motion this time) and started heading towards her favorite clothing shop.

"Not-Yet-Departed Fashions?" PIXAL asked with a frown, reading the sign as they walked inside. "What kind of a name is that?"

"They've got all the newest trends," Nya said excitedly, ignoring the comment, "and everything is organized by color, so it's really easy to find what you want!"

Sure enough, the store was divided up like a rainbow, with entire displays of dresses, tops, hats, and accessories categorized by color. There was also an entire section of just nail polish in the back near the counter.

"Okay," Nya said, sizing up PIXAL like she would an enemy before battle, "obviously you're a winter, and we already know you look good in purple, so let's start looking through the purples to see if there's anything that suits you."

PIXAL looked like she wanted to say something, but remained silent and followed Nya to the racks of purple clothing. She tried on a few pieces of jewelry and a hat, but ended up putting them all back and refused to try any of the dresses. Nya wasn't sure if it was because she didn't care or because she cared too much, but decided not to comment.

"Um…" the android started to speak, then hesitated.

Nya turned. "What is it? If you see something you like, just say so! That's the point of shopping!"

"No, I just…" PIXAL started. "I was wondering if it would be all right to look at a different section… perhaps something closer to my armor?" She looked up hopefully.

"Oh, sure!" Nya said, a bit surprised. "We can try to find something with a similar color palette. Or make a similar palette out of different items, anyway." She almost started asking about how PIXAL made and/or altered the Samurai X armor in the first place, but forced herself to save those questions for later. She knew she'd probably end up lecturing PIXAL for stealing her stuff, and this was probably not the best time to do that.

Several minutes of searching later, the silver-haired girl tentatively held out a white tank top with a small gold heart on the chest. Nya smiled.

"That looks good. Want to find some bottoms to go with that?"

PIXAL paused, then nodded and pointed to the blue section.

"Okay, blue will work. Let's try to find a dark blue, so you aren't too top-heavy." Nya led the other girl around for a while in that manner, asking her questions (the android had seemed to randomly switched to a rather shy mood, and wouldn't talk without prompting) and giving her advice on what would look best. Eventually, the items added up to a dark blue high-waisted skirt, some gold-adorned wedges, a bottle of gold nail polish, and the tank top. It was an unusually eclectic assortment of items, Nya thought, but then again, PIXAL herself was somewhat eclectic.

"You should probably try everything on," she said, handing the clothes to the android, "just to make sure it all fits." PIXAL nodded and walked into the dressing room to change. Nya browsed the nail polish racks for herself while she waited— hey, might as well make the most of the time. Although, as she remembered disdainfully, it was awfully hard to keep nail polish from chipping when fighting in a ninja gi and not a suit of protective metal armor.

"Um…" PIXAL said shyly as she came out of the dressing room and tapped Nya on the shoulder. The water ninja turned around and gasped in pleasant surprise.

"You've got wiring on your arm!" she noted, pulling the android's right arm up to examine it. A plethora of purple markings matching those on her face ran down it gracefully, like vines coiled around a tree. "This is so pretty! Why haven't we seen this before?"

"I-I always thought it looked too robotic," PIXAL admitted, a light purple blush adorning her cheeks briefly. "I knew Father designed me to look as humanoid as he could, so I never liked showing too much of my wiring."

"But your chest wiring showed with your old outfit," Nya pointed out. "Not that it wasn't pretty!" she added quickly.

"I had to leave my vital areas easily accessible in case of a malfunction," PIXAL explained, nodding. Then she suddenly bit her lip, her face contorting into nervousness again. This time, Nya noticed why— a few others in the store were stealing not-so-subtle glances at the silver-haired girl. One glare from the water ninja, however, made them look away.

"Well, I think you look super pretty, so go change back and I'll start wracking things up," Nya said with a reassuring smile. "I can help you put the nail polish on later." PIXAL nodded affirmatively and did as she was told, while Nya hesitated and then snagged two more bottles of nail polish to add to the purchase, blue and red. She'd find a way to manage.

* * *

(A/N: Fun fact, this chapter was also already written yesterday. I just held off on posting it. So, to that one anon who requested them going shopping: congrats, you lucked out! XD Thank you all so much for your reviews, btw, I honestly wasn't expecting this story to get so much positive attention right off the bat. ^_^ ...also, "Not-Yet-Departed Fashions" is quite possibly the worst joke I've ever made, and points to anyone who got the reference X'D)


	3. Ice Cream

A group of people crowded around one display or another was not an uncommon sight in the shopping mall, especially when there were discounts involved. However, it was less than common for them to be crowded around another shopper.

"Please, give her some space!" Nya was doing her best to keep the worried huddle of strangers away from the android on the floor, but either concern or curiosity had gotten the better of them.

"Are you okay, dearie?" an older woman asked, bending down and attempting to touch the silver-haired girl. She responded with a noise that was almost like a growl, successfully forcing the stranger to retreat.

"PIXAL, it's okay, they're just trying to help— sir, will you please move out of the way?" The water ninja was having more trouble with dispersing a small group of curious bystanders than she usually had against armies of snake warriors or rock monsters. Finally, she noticed a security guard passing by the other side of the mall and waved him over.

"What's going on here?" he asked, which was enough to make several of the people leave immediately.

"She's just cramping up," Nya explained, "but everyone's freaking out about it—"

"Oy!" the guard barked at the crowd, interrupting Nya. "Leave the girl alone, you hear? And you with the phone, I'm going to need you to hand that over! Filming without authorized permission isn't allowed on private property!" Several people groaned and started to leave, and one teenager muttered and handed her pink Borg phone over to the man.

"Thank you so much," Nya sighed, looking at PIXAL with a worried expression. "I guess they aren't used to seeing androids in this part of town…"

"Or any part of town," the cop said, glancing down at the girl. "But android or no, if she acts anything like my wife when she gets cramps, it was those shoppers who were in danger." He barked with laughter and gave PIXAL a small wink, which she responded to with a feeble smile.

"All right, I'm actually headed to my lunch break, so I'll be taking my leave now. Will you ladies be okay?" the man asked.

Nya nodded. "Thank you very much."

"Just doing my job. Have a nice day!" the man replied cheerfully, and walked off (probably towards the food court).

Nya was quickly reminded of the situation from a low moan from PIXAL. She knelt down in a concerned manner. "Where does it hurt?"

"My sides," PIXAL responded, curled up on the floor. She shut her eyes tightly and took in a sharp breath.

"Yeah, that's definitely cramps," Nya sighed empathetically. "Why do you even _have_ pain centers there?"

"I think they are supposed to alert me— _OW—_ if my thermo-coil overheats, but—" PIXAL winced, unable to finish her statement through the pain.

"It's okay," Nya reassured her, sitting down and scanning the long stretch of walkway in front of them. "It's gonna be okay. Just wait it out."

"It hurts," PIXAL moaned, sounding close to tears.

"I know," Nya said sadly. She remembered the first time she'd dealt with really bad cramps: she hadn't known what was happening, and Kai had completely freaked out, which had been less than helpful.

Thankfully, after a few minutes the android's breathing began to deepen again, and she managed to sit up with Nya's help.

"Better?" Nya asked nervously. PIXAL nodded, but looked weary from the pain.

"Okay," she sighed, relieved. "Then I think I know where we're going for our next stop."

"Hm?" PIXAL asked curiously. "Where is that?"

Nya smiled. "It's almost 3:30. This is when I normally eat something out of my candy stash. But obviously, that's back at the Bounty, so…"

PIXAL raised an eyebrow. Nya pointed to a poster in the window of a store announcing _NinjaFruit Ice Cream: Now Open in the Food Court!_

"Have you ever tried ice cream?"

PIXAL shook her head.

"Then we're going to fix that."

* * *

"We'll have a chocolate-chocolate-chunk on a waffle cone, and…" Nya turned to PIXAL. "What do you want?"

The android stared blankly ahead, seemingly distracted by the weird looks she was getting from the cashier. "Um… I do not know."

"Okay," Nya said, shifting herself in front slightly, "then we'll have two of what I ordered."

The manager (a scrawny, inexperienced worker who was obviously new to the city by his shock towards PIXAL) nodded nervously and started scooping the girls their ice cream.

"Hey." Nya put her hands on PIXAL's shoulders and turned her to look her in the eyes. "You okay?"

"Many people seem… uncomfortable around me," PIXAL replied in a low voice, as the girls moved away to let the next people in line order. "I do not know if coming here was a good idea."

"Trust me, it'll be fine," Nya reassured her. "Don't pay attention to them. And if anyone makes any rude remarks, I'll help you hide the body."

Surprisingly, PIXAL smiled a little at that and even seemed to have to restrain herself from laughing. "I did not know you were one for morbid jokes."

"Well, to be honest, I think Zane rubbed off on me," Nya admitted sheepishly, redoing her ponytail. Another worker at the counter motioned that the girls' ice cream was ready and handed Nya the cones.

"Are you referring to that Brickonicle movie? You do not really believe that Zane was the one making those jokes during that death scene, did you?" PIXAL asked, taking one of the cones from Nya.

"Well— I—" Nya stammered in surprise. "I asked him why he was snickering to himself, and he told me—" she whispered something in PIXAL's ear. PIXAL grinned and nodded.

"Indeed. I suppose you assumed he made that joke up," she replied.

"Well, I did think it was a little out of character for him," Nya admitted, and her eyes widened. "Wait. Don't tell me _you_ told him that?"

"I was stuck inside his head," PIXAL said, shrugging. "I would often tell him things only he could hear."

Nya slapped her forehead. "So THAT'S why he was always laughing to himself! I can't believe I didn't realize—" Suddenly, she noticed PIXAL looking at the floor, smiling but seeming somewhat upset. She quickly changed the subject.

"Come on, you gotta eat that before it melts," she said, pointing to PIXAL's ice cream and taking a lick of her own. "Mm. I haven't had ice cream in way too long. This stuff is delicious."

PIXAL seemed hesitant but mimicked Nya, taking a small lick of the frosty treat. Almost immediately her face broke into a grin, although she ducked her head to try and hide it. Nya smirked.

"Good?" she asked. PIXAL nodded, biting her lip to try not to smile too much (Nya didn't know why, but it was kind of cute), and brought the cone back up to her mouth, this time taking a full-sized bite. Nya wondered how it was possible that she'd never tried ice cream before. It was kind of ironic, considering she was dating the ninja of ice.

"Come on," she said, noticing a newly empty table, "let's sit down while we eat. Gotta save our strength for more shopping."

PIXAL nodded and followed obediently, too absorbed in eating her ice cream to respond verbally. Nya smiled.

"Told you this was a good idea."

* * *

(A/N: It's been a headcanon of mine for a long time that after S4, Zane would always start laughing during death scenes and the others were super freaked out by it but thought, maybe it's a coping mechanism considering he actually died so we'll leave him alone... But actually it was just PIXAL making really morbid jokes and only he could hear them.) (Also yes I have a chapter called Ice Cream in SDLPC as well, I'm not good with titles okay sue me X"D)


	4. Stuffed Animals

After finishing their ice cream, the girls walked around on the lower level of the mall window-shopping. PIXAL seemed re-energized by the sugar in her system and was asking Nya various questions about her inventions, which Nya was more than happy to brag abou— answer.

"So on the new turbo engines you developed for the Bounty, the proximity sensors—"

"Pure titanium," Nya said, smiling. "Since they kept blowing up, I took a hint from Zane."

PIXAL covered her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter. "Oh my— that was _terrible,"_ she laughed, hitting Nya gently in a mock-punch. Nya wondered where she learned to do that.

"Now it's my turn to ask _you_ a question," Nya said, stopping for a minute to admire an outfit that Kai would definitely never let her outside in.

"Okay," PIXAL said, intrigued.

"What's your facial recognition system? I was thinking about putting one in the bigger weapons I make for the boys— you know, tanks and stuff— so we don't have any trouble with crossfire."

"I rely primarily on an A12 Bionicle Chip," PIXAL responded, "but I also have an advanced audio recognition system that allows me to register voices as well as faces, so in case my visuals go down I am still functional."

"Oh, neat! I bet that'd come in handy if we ever ran into shapeshifters, too," Nya said with a grin.

"If a shapeshifter can accurately reproduce the visual and behavioral patterns of a person, they would most likely be able to mimic their vocal pattern as well," PIXAL pointed out. "But, yes, it is useful for other things." Suddenly, she paused, her attention focused on something in a window display.

"What is it?" Nya asked, trying to match her line of sight up with PIXAL's. "Something catch your eye?"

"Oh— no, not really," PIXAL replied, suddenly embarrassed. Nya walked over to the window.

"Awwwww, look at these little stuffed animals!" she squealed, looking at some of the plushes that dotted the display. PIXAL shifted her feet.

"Wait, don't tell me these were what you were looking at?" Nya asked, smiling. "Come on, let's go inside and see how soft they are! They _are_ adorable."

"I do not really see the use of such an item," PIXAL said hesitantly.

"Pff. The point isn't to be useful. Just to make you happy!" Nya insisted, grabbing the other girl's wrist. "Come on." She led her inside, with some resistance.

"Welcome to the Ground Floor Toy Store," a woman with a blue name tag welcomed cheerfully.

"Bit of an on-the-nose name, isn't it?" Nya asked as she walked over to the plushes, still holding PIXAL by the wrist.

"Well, the managers thought it was fitting. You here for the stuffed animals too?" the woman chuckled. "We just got another shipment of those. Aren't they adorable?"

"Oh, they're even cuter up close!" Nya exclaimed, picking up a baby seal with big blue eyes. "And soft, too." She was grateful that none of the boys were around— she usually felt like she couldn't enjoy girly things without getting teased or not being taken seriously.

"Who's your friend there?" the woman asked politely. PIXAL was looking hesitantly at the plushes like a kid who was contemplating stealing a cookie.

"This is PIXAL," Nya said, turning the android to face the woman. "PIXAL, say hi."

"H-hello," she managed to stammer, brushing back a strand of her silver hair nervously. "It is nice to meet you."

"You're an android, aren't you? It's nice to meet you too!" the woman said cheerfully. She seemed much less put-off by this fact than all the people they'd met before.

"Um…" PIXAL said hesitantly. "May I ask if you have met other androids before? Most people here seem more… alarmed at my presence." She dropped her gaze to the floor.

"Oh, no" the woman replied, starting to study some kind of inventory sheet, "but my son is autistic and is obsessed with robots. He tells me everything I ever needed to know about them, and a lot more." She chuckled fondly. "Oh, but his biggest obsession is with that white ninja, Zane. He wants to be just like him when he grows up."

Nya whipped around and grinned as she saw PIXAL smile and blush a little at just the mention of the nindroid's name. _Her_ nindroid's name.

"Go on, tell her!" she giggled, punching PIXAL in the shoulder (which hurt a lot more than she expected). PIXAL tried to shush her, but the lady was already leaning forward in curiosity.

"Tell me what?" she asked. "Oh, are you a fan of his, too?"

Nya's grin got wider as PIXAL's blush became more apparent. "You could say that," she said, looking at PIXAL expectantly. When the android didn't respond, she turned to the lady with a smirk and made the announcement herself.

"They're dating."

The woman first blinked in confusion, then almost jumped in surprise. "You're— you're kidding me!"

"Nope," Nya chuckled, nudging PIXAL again, who wasn't taking her gaze off the floor. "And I'm Nya, the water ninja! Although I guess that's not really something you'd hear about from your son if robots are his thing…"

The woman was shocked silent for a solid few minutes. Finally, she managed to say to herself, "Well… I don't believe my luck." Then she looked up at the girls. "Um… It's probably not a fair price to ask for, but if you could get an autograph for me, I'll buy you each one of those stuffed animals you're admiring so much."

"Sure thing!" Nya said, before PIXAL could respond. "Only, we'll have to bring it by tomorrow, since we probably won't see the boys until tonight. Is that okay?"

The woman squealed and nodded. "Oh, thank you so much! I promise you, this will mean so much to my son."

"I know Zane would be more than happy to encourage a fan," PIXAL put in, finally having found her voice again.

"Yeah, but we're not refusing those plushes," Nya interjected eagerly. "Come on, now you _have_ to choose one."

PIXAL sighed but smiled nervously as she studied the various stuffed creatures staring up at her. Nya had already chosen the baby seal and was handing it to the woman to ring up at the register.

"I like this one," PIXAL finally stated firmly, holding out a snowy owl with big blue eyes like Nya's seal had.

"Okay," the woman at the register said (Lissa, apparently, or at least according to her name tag), and rung up the purchases. "My shift tomorrow is from nine to five, but if I'm not here you can drop off the autograph with one of the other workers." She seemed trying hard to contain her excitement.

"Got it," Nya said. "Thank you again!" She then took PIXAL's free hand (the other was holding tightly to the stuffed owl) and led her gently out of the store.

* * *

(A/N: The shopping shenanigans continue. As always, reviews are food for my muse. :3)


	5. Music

"It's nice out here, isn't it?" Nya asked, smiling as the sunshine hit her skin. It was already roughly 4:30, but it was still hot outside; after spending some time in the air conditioned mall, the heat was once again welcome. It'd probably be another pleasantly warm night, too.

PIXAL shrugged. "My sensors read that this is a higher than normal temperature for this time of day. And drier. In other words, not ideal."

"Yea, but what do _you_ think?" Nya asked. The android paused, then smiled a little.

"…Yes, it's nice."

Per Nya's curiosity about a new self-care store opening up (she was allergic to perfume, but loved a good body wash or bath bomb when she could sneak them into the bathroom without the boys noticing), the girls had departed from the main building of the mall and were browsing the windows of the shops that surrounded it, which were plentiful in number and variety.

"Ooh, look at those little hair barrettes," Nya said, peering through a semi-smudged glass window into a hair salon. "You'd look good in one of the side bows, I'd bet."

PIXAL smiled a little, clutching her stuffed owl closer to her chest. Nya had put hers in her backpack earlier, along with their other purchases (she always came to the mall prepared), but PIXAL had kept hers close the whole time, sometimes stroking its soft head gently when she looked to be feeling nervous. "You think so?" she asked.

"Yea!" Nya encouraged, but her attention was quickly caught by something else down the street. "Oh, hey, I think that's the shop I was looking for!"

"Then let us not delay," PIXAL said with a smile, and walked with the black-haired girl to the green-and-tan building, lagging a bit behind due to her shorter height.

"Aw, what?" Nya said as they approached the front doors. A sign hanging from inside said doors read _Sea-lax Soaps and Scrubs: Coming Soon!_

"I thought you said the store had already opened," PIXAL said, tilting her head to the side. Her hair fell slightly as she did so, giving her the vibe of a confused small child.

"I was sure it had," Nya said, frowning. PIXAL closed her eyes and performed a quick search on the matter.

"It was supposed to open a week ago," she confirmed, "but due to an incident interrupting the closing of their other location, the company has decided to push the opening date back."

"Well, that's no fun," Nya pouted. "What should we do now?"

PIXAL looked down the street. "Perhaps we could investigate the cause of that music."

Nya raised an eyebrow. "What music?"

"Hm? Oh, perhaps my audio sensors are sharper than that of a human," PIXAL commented. "I hear faint music coming from… somewhere in that direction. I'd estimate about three blocks away."

"Well, I'm always up for a good mystery," Nya laughed. "Let's go!" She started walking, then turned and paused when she noticed PIXAL wasn't following her. "You okay?"

The android was clutching her side, breathing slowly. "I'll be okay," she said with a weak smile. "Just give me a moment."

Nya hesitated, then sat down on the sidewalk and motioned for PIXAL to join her. She complied, her green eyes darting around in a likely effort to distract herself from the pain. Nya then wrapped an arm around the girl, who looked startled by the motion at first but slowly relaxed and let herself be held while she wait out the pain.

* * *

"Is this… a music festival?"

The girls had finally found the source of the faint music PIXAL had heard— although it wasn't faint anymore. A dozen or so food trucks with growing lines of people formed a semicircle around an outdoor dance floor, which was backed by a small stage with a number of musicians standing on top. Nya's eyes widened as she figured out what was happening.

"Ohhh! This is local talent night," she explained to the android. "I've heard about this event. Aspiring musicians and singers perform for free, and the community comes to dance and get dinner and sometimes go shopping."

"…and to get intoxicated," PIXAL noted as a band of laughing young men staggered by. Nya rolled her eyes.

"Yea, that too."

"Ladies and gentlemen, that was the Red Batons!" a slightly over-enthusiastic voice announced over a speaker. "Let's give them a hand!"

The crowd clapped politely, and several couples stepped off the dance floor, while a few more stepped on. Others sat at the few tables that were scattered around the various food trucks, eating their pre-prepared dinners, and those who were neither eating nor dancing were busy trying to convince their friends to do one or the other.

"It certainly is lively," PIXAL remarked. Nya nodded.

"For our next band of the night," the same voice from before said, "please give it up for… Fandooooom Liiiiiights!"

The general population seemed a bit more excited about this band than the previous one, although the announcer was still pushing his luck with the amount of enthusiasm in his voice.

As the Red Batons finished clearing their own members from the stage, the new band did a quick instrument check, flashing hand signals to each other that probably looked cooler than whatever they meant.

"Hey, PIXAL, you ever heard of this band?" Nya asked. PIXAL closed her eyes for a moment.

"Fandom Lights is a cover band," she stated as if she were reading something out loud, "with a growing following and a few cover albums already released. Rumor has it that they started playing in the same avenue as the current #1 band in Ninjago, The Fold."

"Oh, I love those guys!" Nya exclaimed, then blushed a little to having just admitted to being a fan of a boy band. PIXAL didn't seem to notice, however: she was busy observing a certain couple on the dance floor.

"What are you looking at?" Nya asked, tilting her head to see.

"They… appear to be dancing," PIXAL said in a confused tone, "but there is no music playing. The band has not started yet."

"Well, good for them!" Nya laughed. PIXAL raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, come on," the black haired girl persuaded, "sometimes you have to dance even when there's no music playing! They're probably just really happy to be here!"

"I… suppose so," PIXAL said with uncertainty. She paused, then suddenly admitted, "I have only been out dancing once, so it is possible my knowledge of the subject is under-developed."

"Oh? When was that?" Nya asked. PIXAL smiled slightly.

"I was with Zane," she started, and probably would have gone on were she not interrupted by a sudden burst of feedback coming from the speakers. Both girls grimaced and covered their ears.

"Sorry!" one of the band members said into the mic once the screeching had stopped, and a few people in the crowd laughed. He nodded and raised a thumbs-up to the other members of the band and they began to play. Within the first two measures, Nya jerked her head up and gasped.

"No way! This is one of my favorite songs!" she exclaimed. She spun around to face PIXAL and grinned. "Come on, we gotta dance."

"What?!" PIXAL yelped as Nya grabbed her hand and started dragging her towards the dance floor.

"You said you've danced before, this isn't that different!" Nya replied.

"That was a formal dance!" the android exclaimed, trying (and succeeding more than Nya would have expected) to break free of the water ninja's grip. "This type of dancing is casual; there are no rules to follow!"

"Exactly!" Nya replied loudly over the growing volume of the band, forcefully heaving PIXAL onto the edge of the dance floor and narrowly avoiding crashing into a pink-haired girl who was too caught up in rocking out to notice. "There are no rules, so there's no way to mess up!"

PIXAL opened her mouth to respond, but Nya was already jumping up and down like most of the crowd and mouthing the words while the lead singer rocked out.

 _"The other shoe dropped_

 _When I drew the last straw_

 _Then the camels back broke_

 _And I'm done pretending_

 _Nothing can get me down!"_

PIXAL hesitated, looking back and forth. Everyone around her was dancing, but thankfully nobody seemed to be looking at each other— or her. Still, she'd never been in such an oddly casual dance setting before, and she couldn't look up instructions on what to do because _there were none_. It frustrated her greatly.

 _"I'm a little unwell_

 _Like I'm not myself_

 _And I need another joke_

 _Like I need a heat stroke"_

The android perked up a little in amusement at the lyrics of the song. At least they were relatable. She suddenly noticed that Nya wasn't right in front of her anymore and realized she'd wormed her way into the middle of the dance floor. Taking a deep breath, she started to wade through the crowd awkwardly, deciding that if she couldn't come up with what to do on her own, at least she could imitate Nya. When the water ninja saw her, she grinned and waved, motioning her to come over.

 _"Gotta get out somehow!"_

PIXAL yelped in surprise as Nya momentarily stopped her jumping and grabbed PIXAL by the hands, pulling her in to dance. Additionally, the ninja was no longer mouthing, but singing, the words to the song, as were several others nearby.

 _"We can run away_

 _We can take flight_

 _We don't need a reason_

 _We can ride all night!"_

Now firmly resolved to mimic the human girl's behavior, PIXAL did a quick search online for the lyrics of the song and joined the others in singing along, as well.

 _"Don't worry, the world won't break_

 _Don't worry, just make your escape!"_

Nya seemed surprised when PIXAL started singing, but then quickly looked all the happier because of it. She started varying her movements a little bit, spinning the shorter girl around by the hand (a move PIXAL recognized from various types of formal dancing, only it was performed more loosely and with much less warning) and pumping her fist in the air while flashing the 'hang ten' sign. One or two nearby dancers glanced over at the odd duo, whether because of Nya's dancing or PIXAL's complexion, neither girl could tell.

 _"We can disappear_

 _Fade into the starlight,_

 _Never looking back_

 _Somehow its all right!"_

Nya turned and noticed PIXAL as _she_ noticed the heads starting to turn towards them. She put a hand on the android's shoulder and smiled at her reassuringly, emphasizing the words of the song louder.

 _"Don't worry, I don't care what they say!"_

A few things happened simultaneously. A dark shadow suddenly seemed to wash over the sky, thrusting the atmosphere into nighttime although the sun was still visible. The music was pumped up louder by the DJ, and the lead singer grew all the more excited because of it. Multiple people started whispering to each other and motioning towards the strange silver-haired girl. And finally, and most unexpectedly, a smile started forming across said girl's face.

 _"We can run,_

 _We can run,_

 _We can run away!"_

"Nya," PIXAL suddenly asked, looking up the taller girl, "can we take the SX2 Motorbike somewhere?"

"Sure," Nya replied in surprise, "Where do you wanna go?"

PIXAL grinned. "Anywhere," she replied, the music still playing on in the background. "I just want to go for a ride."

Nya's face contorted into a suspicious, but not altogether untrusting, smile. "…okay," she said, "but I'm not letting you drive."

"What? Why?" the android asked in surprise.

"I know that look," she started to laugh, looking suspiciously into PIXAL's green eyes, which glowed in the darkness. "Whenever Kai gets that look it means he's about to do something stupid."

"Awww," PIXAL pouted, but she grinned as they started making their way back through the dance floor to the surrounding area. A couple people stopped dancing to stare at the odd pair, but PIXAL's mood was currently set to some kind of confidence that allowed her not only to ignore, but seemingly welcome the looks.

The girls lingered about the edge of the dance floor until the end of the song, then made off running toward the area they'd parked. PIXAL, for once, was in the lead, giggling like crazy. Nya had never seen her so happy before.

"You drink anything back there while I wasn't watching?" she asked teasingly, lengthening her stride to keep up with the eager android. PIXAL smiled.

"Nope," she replied. In addition to the brilliant beaming green light from her eyes, her purple wiring now also seemed to give off a faint glow.

"I'm just following the music."

* * *

(A/N: A longer chapter, for once! I also realize that I broke one of my own pet peeve rules with this chapter, which was briefly going into PIXAL's thoughts when the rest of this fic has been in 3rd person limited perspective, but I honestly couldn't find a way to fix that section and still make it feel satisfying, so... eh... I'll leave it for now, maybe if anyone has a good solution they can leave it in the review section. X( )

(A/N UPDATE: Oh crud btw, I forgot to state the obvious, which is that Fandom Lights is a pun on Anthem Lights [one of my favorite bands] and the song in this chapter is a real song by them called Run Away. Obviously I don't own it. But you should look it up, it's really good. :P)


	6. Emotions

"Slow down, girly!" Nya laughed, running after the figure in front of her, which had a faint purple glow about it.

"We must hurry!" was PIXAL's only response. The android grinned as she ran into the parking lot and hopped on the motorbike, but Nya smirked and gently pushed her off.

"I already said I'm driving," she insisted, unzipping her backpack and pulling out two helmets. She donned one and handed the other to PIXAL.

"I am an infallible machine of logic," she replied with an almost jeering tone that suggested her to be anything but what she claimed. "I would not crash a fellow mechanism!"

"'Fellow mechanism,' huh?" Nya asked with a smirk, adjusting her straps. "And I suppose this mechanism has a name?"

"Of course. Its name is Alexa," PIXAL replied with no hesitation. Nya paused.

"Did you just come up with that, or…?"

When the android didn't reply right away, Nya shrugged and handed PIXAL the backpack to put on, then motioned for her to hop on the back of the motorbike.

"So, do you have anywhere in particular you want to go?" she asked, revving up the vehicle.

"Nope!" PIXAL replied cheerfully. It was so strange hearing her speak in a casual tone of voice, and yet somehow it was starting to sound to Nya more like that was the way she was always supposed to speak.

"Then I think I have an idea of a destination," the water ninja said with a smile. "But I'm not telling you until we get there."

"What? Why?" PIXAL asked in something like a fake pout, but grinned as the Motorbike started driving out of the lot. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Nya's waist, knowing that she'd probably get a safety lecture if she didn't.

"'Cuz surprises are fun. Now hurry up and pick a radio station or I'm picking for you."

"K-Lightening 101," the android replied immediately. Before Nya could ask why she'd chosen that station, she added, "It is one of Ninjago's most popular stations and apparently plays many of the songs that Fandom Lights covers."

"So I take it I've converted you into a fan?" Nya asked hopefully as she bypassed some disgruntled-looking drivers on the street. She loved riding the SX2 Motorbike for multiple reasons: it was fast, it was freeing, she'd built it herself (well, now it had been modified by PIXAL, but the bike was the thing she'd made the least changes to), and she always got jealous looks from ordinary citizens in cars when she bypassed them during a red light.

"I wouldn't go using the word 'fan' just yet," PIXAL teased, but reached in front of Nya to access the controls and turn on the radio. The music turned on just as the light turned green and Nya stepped on the gas, propelling the girls forward at a decent pace.

The sky started turning dark pretty quick, and Nya maneuvered her way onto the highway even quicker. The music was clear, even over the roar of traffic. The headlights of the bike and the lights of the girl behind her cut through the ever-approaching twilight. The feel of the wind blowing past kept perfect time with the pure feeling of _moving,_ moving fast as the bike harnessed the power of kinetic energy beneath Nya's feet. And as night began to fall, the water ninja started feeling something she hadn't felt since she was a little girl. Something like magic.

One might think that while living with a brother who could control fire and a boyfriend that could summon lightening at will, a girl would get pretty numb to the idea of magic. But such was just not the case. This was a different kind of magic— the kind felt by little kids at Christmas, and teenagers before their first date. The kind that didn't know what was going to happen next, even while knowing _exactly_ what was going to happen next, the kind that made it seem as if something big could happen at any minute.

As Nya stole a quick (probably unsafe) glance at the passenger behind her, she could tell that PIXAL felt it, too. Furthermore, it was clearly the android's first time experiencing any such a feeling: her green eyes shone with a sense of wonder and excitement akin to that of a child just beginning to walk.

"You doing okay back there, PIXAL?" Nya shouted with a grin as she sped up, keeping perfect pace with the cars zooming around her.

"Very much so!" PIXAL replied, tightening her grip a little on the driver. "I have heard of music affecting humans' emotions before, but…" She didn't need to finish her sentence. This was clearly the first time the songs on the radio had ever meant something more than noise to her. Nya felt somewhat proud to be the first person to be able to introduce her to the feeling.

The girls drove along silently, listening only to the music and the sounds of the highway for a while longer. Unfortunately, they were only maybe halfway to Nya's destination when the water ninja felt a sudden grip from the hands around her waist. She made a small noise, startled, and shouted back,

"Everything okay?"

When she heard a quiet "…y-yes…" in response, she knew something was wrong.

Taking the first exit she saw and driving until she found a place to park (thankfully, there was one close by), Nya slowed the motorbike to a halt and then turned around worriedly.

"PIXAL, you're a terrible liar. What's wrong?"

The android's eyes shook in either sadness or fear, it was hard to tell. "N-no, it's not— n-nothing's wro— nothing big is—" she choked on her words, becoming more and more distressed as she spoke. Her eyes widened. "Can't— can't talk—!"

"Whoa, whoa, it's okay," Nya said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Is it a physical problem or can you just not talk?"

"Th-the second one," PIXAL said, seeming upset by the fact.

"Okay. Take a deep breath and wait for it to pass, then tell me what's wrong."

PIXAL obeyed, although every time she started to calm she'd suddenly appear to think of something and become upset again. Nya was worried something was terribly wrong, until the android managed to choke out—

"I— I left Lullaby—!" She squeezed her eyes shut and buried her head in her hands.

"Lullaby?" Nya asked in confusion, but then something inside her brain clicked. "Wait… oh no, do you mean your owl?"

PIXAL nodded, holding back shaky breaths. "It— it shouldn't bother— but I shouldn't have lost— I-I do not make mistakes—!" Every time she stopped and started a new sentence, she became increasingly distressed. Nya put a hand on the android's shoulder, rubbing her sympathetically.

"Hey. It's gonna be okay," she reassured her. "We can go back, do you know where you left—"

"W-what if someone has stolen it?" PIXAL cut her off, then shook her head in distress. "Furthermore, I-I should not have lost it… him…? in the first place…"

"Nonsense. Everyone loses stuff," Nya stated, and before PIXAL could respond, she'd turned around and wrapped the android's arms back around her waist. "I know how to get going the other direction from here. Hold on tight."

The SX2 Motorbike made a loud, contented _vroom_ as Nya drove back to the highway and amped up the speed. PIXAL clung to the driver with crushing strength, occasionally making quiet noises of distress that were mostly drowned out by the roar of the engine. The drive seemed to take forever, but it was really less than 20 minutes from the time the girls started heading back to the time Nya got back to the parking lot and quickly shut down the custom bike.

"Okay, do you think you know where you left it or should we retrace our steps?" Nya asked as the girls hurried in the direction of the mall. PIXAL stopped walking and closed her eyes, seemingly going through some sort of database.

"I set it down on the sidewalk near the green and tan shop," she said after a few minutes, opening her eyes. She looked down, giving away a feeling of shame as her pupils adjusted themselves mechanically.

"Then that's where we'll go," Nya said, continuing to speed-walk in the direction she'd been going. PIXAL looked like she might break into a run at any moment, but Nya forced the girl to stay on pace with her— fast enough to give her comfort but not so fast it aggravated her emotions further.

Several minutes of walking later, the girls came to the not-yet-open store that they'd stopped by earlier. Everything about the scene seemed the same to Nya— the tree propped up with a wooden pole, the slightly faded paint on the buildings, and the _Opening Soon!_ sign— but PIXAL froze.

"It's not here," she said, fear creeping into her voice. Her gaze darted across the scene and her hands trembled slightly. "I— I lost it. It's gone."

"Hey, ssh, it's okay. Don't jump to conclusions yet," Nya said, noticing that the girl seemed close to tears. _Could_ she cry? Nya wasn't sure, but she didn't want to find out. "Someone might have picked it up and given it to one of the storeowners. Come on, let's go ask around." She took the girl's hand (which seemed even colder than usual) and led her inside the closest open shop, which was a plain-looking brown building with lots of tools inside.

Behind the counter, an impressively muscular woman was leaning on the counter in a bored fashion. She seemed surprised when Nya and PIXAL walked in.

"Welcome," she said, straightening up as if her boss were walking by, "you need anything? If so, I recommend going fast, 'cause we're closing up pretty soon."

"Sorry, not today," Nya said, although she had to admit a few of the wares did catch her eye. "You haven't seen a stuffed owl anywhere nearby, have you?"

The woman's eyes landed on PIXAL and she perked up. "Oh, is that yours? I saw it on the sidewalk and figured someone lost it. I kept it in the back in case someone came back for it, I'll go get it!" She shuffled into the back room while Nya smiled in relief.

"Hey, you all right?" she asked, noticing that PIXAL still seemed distressed. She nodded passively, but her mind seemed to be elsewhere.

"Here y'are," the buff lady said cheerfully, handing PIXAL the stuffed owl. "Quite a cutie. I'm glad I found him. Or is it a her?" she asked.

"H-him," PIXAL stammered, seeming thoroughly thrown off by the question. Nya smiled kindly at the lady, hoping it would hint for PIXAL to do the same. However, the worker didn't seem phased— or interested in stopping the conversation.

"Cute! Has he got a name?"

"Yes," PIXAL mumbled. "L-Lullaby."

"Aww, what a sweetie," the woman cooed. She was much less intimidating than when they'd first walked in, Nya thought. Suddenly she shook her head. "Oh, I'm sorry, have I been keeping you from something?"

"Not at all," Nya said hurriedly. "PIXAL's just a little shaken right now, that's all. She's having… an emotional day.

"Aaaah," the woman said, giving her a sympathetic nod. "I getcha. My husband says I'm right scary when I have those days." She let out a barking laugh that reminded Nya of just how scary she'd looked before she started talking. "Anyway, you two take care, ya hear? I gotta clean up shop."

Nya nodded. "Thank you very much."

"Yes, thank you," PIXAL added quickly.

"'Course! You drop by anytime!" the woman replied cheerfully, glancing at the clock on the wall and then adjusting it slightly.

"We may," Nya replied somewhat late as the girls walked out of the store. It was an afterthought, but she really did like the look of some of the merchandise— it would be great for rebuilding and modifying some certain pieces of armor, and the lady seemed nice. Nya wished she'd remembered to ask her name, but her thoughts were interrupted by a quiet sniffling from the girl next to her.

"PIXAL? Are you okay?" she asked, her brow wrinkling in worry. The girl nodded but didn't take her eyes off the floor.

"I… I shouldn't have made a mistake. It was a foolish error."

"Hey," Nya insisted, "I already told you. Everyone makes mistakes. Plus, you're not exactly in top functioning order right now."

PIXAL stared at the ground, then quietly replied, "but… it is more than that. This— this incident should not have affected me so much." She hugged Lullaby closer to her chest. "It— it is merely a toy, and one I received at no cost, nonetheless— but I—!"

Suddenly understanding the other levels of sadness and frustration PIXAL was feeling, Nya pulled the android into a tight hug, rubbing her back gently in what she hoped was a soothing motion.

"You are _not_ messed up for feeling like this," she reassured her quietly. "Personally, I think the circumstances we got our plushes under only adds to their value. But even if that weren't the case, it doesn't matter." The silver-haired girl didn't reply, but seemed to be listening intently, and didn't pull away from the hug, so Nya continued.

"Your emotions are _not_ a flaw. Whether they're logical or not is irrelevant: you feel them, and that's all that matters. And you handled the situation really well, so now you can let yourself relax, okay?" She felt a nudge on her shoulder as PIXAL nodded, still sniffling quietly. After several moments, Nya pulled away gently and looked the shorter girl in the eyes.

"Would you be feeling up to seeing the boys again tonight?"

PIXAL nodded, looking a touch confused. "Yes, I was assuming we would see them for dinner… why?"

Nya smiled. "Let's just head back to the bike. I'll message Kai and tell him and the others where to meet us."

PIXAL nodded and complied, and the girls started heading back into the night.

* * *

(A/N: Sorry for the wait, but I hope the length of this chapter makes up for it! I was actually debating which story to write the next chapter for, SDLPC or this one, so I checked the review count of the most recent chapters and surprisingly, you guys had more by a long shot. So, congrats, you won and I updated this story first! XD Also, I planned out this chapter after losing some schoolwork and then getting unreasonably depressed and mad at myself for it. Yay for self-projection... X"D And I totally didn't carry around a Nya plushie to comfort me afterwards haha what)

(P.S. I notice in some fanfics people just say "Pixal" instead of capitalizing her whole name; does it bother anyone that I use all caps?)

(P.P.S. Oh shoot, I almost forgot! I feel it's only fair to warn you: if all goes according to plan the next chapter will be the next one. Thank you all in advance for your support, though! You've all been really kind and motivating with your reviews! ^_^)


	7. Closure

(A/N: Me: I should really write the last chapter of Malfunctions but I'm kinda unmotivated

Me: *watches the new episode*

Me: MY LOVE FOR PIXAL HAS BEEN REKINDLED A THOUSAND TIMES OVER I AM HYPED UP AND READY TO WRITE)

* * *

 _"Plastic-Fire BBQ?"_ PIXAL wrinkled her nose. "I am not very well-versed in culinary, but that hardly seems like an appetizing name for a restaurant."

Nya laughed and slung an arm around the silver-haired girl's shoulder. "Trust me, it's great. Our whole group ate here occasionally, back in the days before…" she thought for a moment, then whistled. "Wow. I guess we haven't really been here since before the battle with the Overlord. The _first_ one."

"That is a long time," PIXAL said, looking up at the restaurant. "Are the others here yet?"

Nya looked around the parking lot. "Well, if they are, they didn't take their mechs, so I'm going to guess no." She laughed. "Let's head inside and get a table. This place is open super late, which is mainly why we ate here."

"Did Sensei Wu not require you all to get up exceedingly early for training?" PIXAL asked as they walked inside.

"Well, _I_ didn't have to, because I wasn't a ninja yet… but yea, the boys were always grumpy when they woke up the next morning for their 'sunrise stretches,'" Nya laughed. "Table for seven, please," she said to a brown-haired worker behind a counter. She nodded and led them to a booth near the back.

"Is it not eight?" PIXAL asked Nya as they walked.

"Nah, Kai said Wu's not coming. He has something to do on the Bounty. But he told us to enjoy ourselves," she replied, plopping down on the bright red booth and sliding into the middle. "Come on, you gotta sit in the middle with me. That way we can annoy all the boys at once!"

PIXAL looked like she was trying hard to suppress a smile. "All right," she responded, joining Nya in the middle of the newly-refurbished booth.

"Would you girls like something to drink to start off with?"

Nya turned towards the waitress, who was fidgeting awkwardly with her apron. She was probably new.

"Water for me, please," she said politely. "PIXAL?"

PIXAL shook her head. "I'm all right, thank you."

The waitress nodded again and scurried off.

"So…" Nya said, turning back to her friend. "You have fun today?"

PIXAL looked down shyly and grinned. "I did. Thank you." She hesitated, then added, "Nobody has ever done anything like this for me… not including Zane, of course."

Nya laughed. "Yea, you guys don't even count. You've saved each other's lives way too many times to compete, not even mentioning the fact you were _literally sharing a body_ at one point!"

PIXAL giggled (which Nya had never heard her do before) and looked like she was about to reply, but a voice cut her off… or rather, a chorus of voices, from the back of the restaurant.

"HEY! SIS!" Kai's voice was the most distinctive as the boys walked in through the back door and shouted their hellos to the seated party. Nya facepalmed and PIXAL smirked as they strutted over to the table, apparently forgetting that rules existed and that it was technically polite to enter through the _front_ door and tell the waiters you were ready to be seated.

"Hey, Pix, what's up?" Kai asked, holding out his hand. PIXAL high-fived it as he'd taught her to do, then fist-bumped Cole. She still didn't see the point of all the meaningless gestures, but she normally complied anyway to make the boys happy. Tonight, it made her happy, too, in a weird way.

"PIXAL!" Zane made his way to the front of the group and slid into the booth, pulling his girlfriend in for a hug. PIXAL beamed and squeezed him back, realizing she hadn't seen him all day.

"It's good to see you," she mumbled into his shoulder, which was followed by various "aww"-ing and gagging noises from the other boys, who found their own places in the semi-circle.

"So what have you two been up to?" Cole asked Nya as Jay gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Not much," she replied cheerfully, winking at PIXAL. "We had a little girls' outing."

"Man," Lloyd said, looking around, "it's been forever since I've been here."

"No kidding. I remember coming here with you when _you_ were still _little,"_ Kai added, ruffling a hand through his brother's blond hair.

"Oh, man!" Jay cried. "I forgot about that! It really has been forever!"

"Remember how he used to try and intimidate the waiters?" Kai asked with a smirk. "He'd be all, 'I'LL HAVE A LARGE STEAK, PLEASE, AS TOUGH AS YOU CAN MAKE IT!'" He burst out laughing as Lloyd shoved him in the side.

"Kaiiiiii!"

"You did have quite a big personality compared to your size," Zane added cooly, smiling at the green ninja.

"Fine, I get it," Lloyd said, rolling his eyes (although he was smiling, too). "I was annoying. But at least I didn't take up half the bill like Cole did!"

 _"Oooooooooh!"_ Jay and Kai snickered at the black ninja, who threw his hands into the air.

"Hey, I'm a big guy! It takes a lot of calories to load these guns," he said, flexing. PIXAL raised an eyebrow.

"We do not possess any guns," she pointed out.

"It's an expression. He means his muscles," Nya explained over the banter of the others.

That was one of the oddest things PIXAL had noticed about the boys: they seemed to take great pleasure in making derogatory remarks to each other. It was one of the habits she'd never been able to understand, no matter how she looked at it, but at the moment, looking at all of them smile…

"They're idiots," she whispered to Nya, with a great sense of both pride and confusion within herself. She would never call one of her teammates something degrading, but somehow, the context changed it. It wasn't a degrading term. In fact, she thought as she watched Kai and Jay messing up each other's hair, it was rather endearing.

Nya grinned. "They are," she whispered back, "but they're _our_ idiots."

The play-fighting continued until it was time to order food, when the subject on everyone's minds switched over to eating. Since she still hadn't tried many foods apart from whatever Zane cooked, PIXAL opted to order whatever Nya did, which seemed to make the water ninja happy. Then, while waiting for the various steaks and potatoes and barbecue items to come, the humdrum of conversation turned to recounting various previous adventures (a common endeavor among the boys, who would always argue over who fought how many minions and which enemies were the hardest to beat). Under the commotion, Zane turned to PIXAL and gave her an inquisitive smile.

"You seem… different," he noted, his blue eyes shining like they always did when he was curious. "A good different," he added quickly, "but what…?"

He didn't need to finish his sentence— he never did— but PIXAL looked down, slightly embarrassed anyway.

"It… it is my AIE-ES chip," she admitted in a hushed tone. Zane looked alarmed, but she quickly put a hand on his shoulder to reassure him.

"It is a perfectly normal happenstance," she explained, "but it has become harder to control since moving to my new body, and… well, I experience severe emotional outbursts, and…" She brushed back a lock of her hair nervously. "I didn't want to worry you."

The nindroid paused, then breathed a sigh of relief. "PIXAL…" he started.

"I know, I shouldn't have hidden it from you," she interjected quickly, "but I was not thinking rationally and…"

Zane put a finger to her lips to quiet her. "I understand," he said softly. "It can be difficult to show weakness to those you love, even when they want to help you."

PIXAL swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded as her nindroid pulled her in for another hug, holding her tighter this time. The boys were too engaged in fierce debate to notice, but when she pulled back Nya shot her a small smile.

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the food came, and any manners the ninja _had_ possessed were thrown out the window as they scarfed down on trays of meat. Whatever Nya had ordered (some sort of veggie wrap with chicken in it) was surprisingly good, although it still didn't compare to Zane's cooking.

The subject of conversation (in between, and sometimes during, bites of food) was now the many gis the ninja had possessed over the years, and which ones were the coolest. PIXAL, for once, joined in, although she herself had never possessed a gi. Still, she knew what all the old outfits of the gang looked like from Zane's memories. It was a silly topic, the arguments for and against shoulder pads didn't really seem to have any logical basis to them, and there wasn't really any clear purpose to the discussion in the first place. But seeing the goofy grins on the boys' faces, eating a perfectly good meal, and tucked in between Nya and Zane, PIXAL could hardly help herself from feeling that it was the most important topic in the world. For a moment, she almost understood how it felt to be human. And to be completely honest?

It wasn't half bad.

* * *

(A/N: Yay for another oneshot that ended up being longer than intended! Thank you all so much for reading my story, I hope you enjoyed it :D If you did, be sure to tell me what you liked about it in the review section so I know what kinds of things you guys like to see ^_^ Thank you again!)

(P.S. SHAMELESS SELF-PROMO HERE: If you want, you can also check out some of my other stories, too! If you want more Ninja/PIXAL content, I'd suggest Samurai PI(X)AL [though no longer canon, it was my first good non-oneshot fic so I'm proud of it]; for more Pixane content, there's A Heartfelt Gift; and if you want more slice-of-life content you'll probably like Several Dead Legos Play Cards [my longest-running fic full of shenanigans similar to the ones in this fic]. Okay, self-promo over, you can get on with your lives now XD)


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